Of Gods And Demons
by The Strategic Specialist
Summary: Brandon Hollis has it all. Looks, popularity, athleticism...but one really screwed up day changes everything as he is forced to face the reality of the world that he lives in.
**This is my first fanfiction, so please bear with me. And also, sorry for any mythological inaccuracies. Criticism and feedback is welcome!**

 **Also - my schedule for this will likely be very _inconsistent;_ I may update within a couple of weeks, or it may be a few months. It all depends on a number of factors. **

People tend to underestimate just how bad things can get for them, until such a time comes when the really bad stuff actually begins to go down. I sure as hell did. I mean, how was I supposed to know gods and demons and things like that actually existed?

Wait. Let me back up, take you back to the beginning. My name is Brandon Hollis. Up until a few months ago, I was a rich kid in Baltimore, Maryland; my parents had everything, and they gave me what I wanted. I had looks, athleticism, and just about everything else. I was a star basketball player, popular jerk, and admittedly in danger of failing Honors Algebra...until everything changed with a series of _unbelievable_ events.

It all started when I was on my way to winter formal. I was in one of the most expensive designer suits known to teenagers, in the back of a limousine with a pretty girl beside me. Her name was Dana, and she was wearing a cute red dress that made it very hard for me to keep my eyes off her. My brown hair was combed and parted neatly to display my strikingly amber eyes.

Dana continuously looked at herself in one of those little mirrors that girls have, making sure that her makeup and wavy blonde hair were done to perfection.

"Calm down, Dana," I chuckled. "You look fantastic, I'm telling you."

"I just want to make sure that nothing's out of place or tacky, Brandon," she responded with a sideways glance.

"Tacky? You? Never," I smirked as I wrapped an arm around her.

She put her mirror away and crossed her arms, leaning against my shoulder. As the limo approached a fancy building with Greek and Roman architecture, I raised a hand.

"Pull up right here," I ordered the driver.

We exited the car and made our way towards the building at a leisurely pace.

"Leave it to the faculty to hold the winter formal dance at a classical history museum," Dana grumbled.

"Might not be so bad," I said. "We'll get to make out with a bunch of ancient statues around us. Romantic."

Dana rolled her eyes, but smiled at my lame jest. We opened the doors into the large atrium-like space of the museum. An ornate chandelier provided most of the lighting; hundreds of high school kids crowded the space, acting in ways that would be questioned by their parents.

"My kind of party," I remarked, interlacing my fingers around Dana's. I nodded to some of my friends with the cocky smile that I was known for. I was Brandon Hollis, after all. I practically owned the room once I walked in.

Even Dana seemed to be cheering up, mingling with people as we passed by. The music hadn't started yet, so people were just socializing for the time being. I turned to Dana.

"Meet you back here once the music starts?" I asked.

"Sure," she replied with a peck on my cheek. She walked over to her friends, who were by the refreshments area. I jogged over to my own group of buddies, but a shadowy presence suddenly invaded my head, and pain erupted in my skull. I staggered a bit, holding onto a nearby marble pillar for support.

I could hear my friends calling out to me, asking if I was alright, but the pain was blocking everything else out.

"I'll be fine!" I shouted in their general direction over the crowd. I grabbed my head and made my way through a nearby hallway and into a spacious room. The pain was slowly starting to subside, and I dropped to my knees, exhausted from the effort of trying to fight it.

I looked up at the huge gold statue that dominated the middle of the room. The Greek god of war...Apollo? No, wait... Ares. It was tall and proud, replete with muscles and a flowing robe. A massive spear was grasped in his hand as well, if all that wasn't enough.

"Listen to me," it seemed to be telling me. "Listen to me now, boy."

"You're just in my head," I said through gritted teeth as I got to my feet a bit unsteadily. "

"No, I am not simply in your head, impertinent child!" The statue growled.

"What the-" I nearly fell backwards from surprise. "How-"

"No time for idiotic questions, boy," the statue said without moving its mouth. "Manifesting in the mortal world through another god's statue is convenient, but ill-advised...and it is a Greek god, no less. I do not have much time."

I tried to speak, but only a confused hum came out, embarrassingly enough. I cleared my throat and stood straight. "I don't know what's going on, but if this is some sort of joke-"

"Joke?!" The statue exclaimed indignantly. "Insolent child, I ought to - argh, just listen to me carefully. Death will come for you now. You must seek out protection. Find the lord of the oceans!"

What the hell was going on? I was more than freaked out now; I swallowed and turned away, wanting nothing more than to get the hell away from that statue.


End file.
